John Cena Explains Why He’s Changed His Mind About Having Kids (VIDEO)

For as long as John Cena has been in the public eye, he's been adamant that he never wants to have children. It was a point of contention throughout he and ex-fiancéNikki Bella's six year relationship and, ultimately, the reason for their breakup just weeks before their scheduled May wedding: Bella had her heart set on being a parent, and in the end, felt she couldn't sacrifice that dream for Cena.

But in the wake of their split, the Blockers star had an apparent change of heart, telling the Today show, "I love her. I want to be with her. I want to make her my wife. I want to be the father of her children. I just want us to work.”

And now, several weeks later, Cena has finally opened up about what changed his mind.

“I would love to be a dad,” he told TMZ in a recent interview. “I realize very much that I have been steadfast in saying that I don’t want children. But I’m a little bit older now, a bit wiser. At age 18, we say things different at age 25, at 35. I would love it only because I dedicated my life to my work and now I’m realizing that there is life and life exists and it’s beautiful and I think part of that is being a parent, so we’ll see.”

His comments come after reports that he and Bella have rekindled their relationship, but he stopped short of confirming the news, saying only they were "best friends" and talk to each other "all the time."